My 2018 Yearly Recap

I have been so busy with work (and finding a new job as well as starting said new job!) that I almost forgot to do my yearly recap!  In fact, it made me realize that I haven't been knitting nearly as much as I have in the past few years. 😒😫

To reaffirm my knitting commitment, I'm not only recapping 2018, I'm also recapping 2017 (since I missed that too) as well as set some knitting goals for 2019. 

In 2017, I made:

1. A "few" (4!) pairs of socks:
• Socks
• Socks
• Socks
• Socks
2. A Pussy Hat & Snood
3. A "Yarn" Lei
4. A scarf for my best friend
5. Two (2) skirts for my twirly whirly girls
6. A summer market bag
7. A hand towel for my bathroom and a replacement one
8. A bath mat

Other things that "happened" in 2017 were:

1. Went on a couple of yarn crawls in:
• Kyushuu
• Seattle
• Seattle (again)
• Portland
2. (Finally) Gussied up my Field Bag so I could take it to Midway
3. Fixed a pair of Hubby's older socks
4. Found a harinezumi pattern that I couldn't resist!
5. Which in turn, suckered me into picking up more stash!

Then in 2018, I made:

1. Made my Giri no Haha socks (never again😔)
2. Another hand towel (twice)
3. (Of course) More socks for Hubby
4. Actually made a pair of harinezumi for my girlies (and another pair for my newly married baby bro)
5. A pair of house booties for my sissy
6. Ripped out my bath mat (from 2017) and redid it
7. Made an almost perfect yoke sweater
8. Another baby blanket for my cousin (she needs to have two babies now and her dog doesn't count😜)
9. A hat for Hubby
10. A pair of kabochas as a winter gift for my friend
11. A perfect (and super warm) sweater
12. A pair of mittens

And ...

1. Found this cute yarn weight chart
2. Managed to break another needle - again

Now for my 2019 knitting resolution: I would like to:

1. Rip out my almost perfect yoke sweater and actually make it perfect😊
2. Make another sweater - perhaps try a simple fair isle?? or at the very least, a two (2) colour sweater; perhaps two (2) sweaters??🤔
3. More socks!🤣
4. And on that note - fix my Make Me Happy Socks (it's a tad too short in the foot)😒
5. Maybe make more harinezumi for my girls (they did want glittery ones) and maybe one for our (expected) new little one??🤔😊
6. Use more of my stash!

Fuyu no Mittens (冬のミトン)

I had some leftover yarn from my Haru no Seetaa - enough to possibly make a pair of hand mitts.  I perused the web and found these patterns: Pioneer Gloves & Chilly Podsters.  I really liked the pattern on the Pioneer Gloves but was intrigued by the Chilly Podsters so, I decided to mash the patterns together.  I used my Chiaogoos US5 needles and ...
1. Cast on 40 sts.
2. Follow Pioneer Glove pattern for 45 rows (25 rows for the cuff, 15 rows to increase for the thumb portion).
3. Split the fingers and thumb; place 15 sts on stitch holders.
4. Continue the Pioneer Glove pattern for the finger portion for 23 rows.
5. Bind off 18 sts to make the split based on the Chilly Podsters.
6. Continue in Pioneer Glove pattern for 1 row.
7. Start decreasing 5sts then another 5 sts for 2 rows, k 1 row, *decrease 1 row (5 sts), k 1 row*, repeat * once (5 more start), decrease until there's a total of 6 sts.
8. Bind off with the Kitchener st.
9. Pick up thumb start and continue in pattern for 5 rows.
10. Bind off 5 sts to make the split based on the Chilly Podsters.
11. Continue in Pioneer Glove pattern for 4 rows.
12. Start decreasing for 5 rows until there's 6 sts left.
13. Bind off with the Kitchener St.
14. Using the remaining yarn, pick up 20 start and follow Pioneer Glove pattern for 11 rows.
15. Bind off in pattern and weave in ends.

Viola!  It was done within a week! Just in time for my up coming work trip! 😉😁

Top

Bottom

Bottom cuffed

Top cuffed

Top cuffed and tucked

Haru no Seetaa (春 のセーター)

In my yarn stash (Thank you, yarn buddy! 🤗), I had three (3) skeins of Manos del Uruguay Maxima Jellybean ... it was such a cute colour that I knew I had to make a yoke style sweater out of it.  And lucky for me, sweater weather had just arrived!  With my Manos del Uruguay Maxima and Cascade Yarns® 220 Superwash® Sport Multis (in a very similar matching colour), I knew I had just enough to make a big, loose, cuddly sweater.  So, with my Chiaogoo Spin US7 needles, here's what I did:

Cast on 110 sts with the Cascade Yarn
Row 1 - 4 (4 rows): 2x2 ribbing
Row 5: Start Helix row stripes, continue 2x2 ribbing
Row 6 - 8 (3 rows): 2x2 ribbing
Row 9 - 10 (2 rows): K (total 110 sts)
Row 11: Increase 1 st, every 10 sts (total inc 11 sts) (10 with Cascadee Yarn (C) & 1 with Manos Del Urugay (M))
Row 12 - 14 (3 rows): K (total 121 sts)
Row 15: Increase 1st, every 10 sts (total inc 11 sts (9 with C & 2 with M)
Row 16 - 20: (5 rows): K (total 132 sts)
Row 21: Increase 1 sts every 7 sts (total inc 18 sts) (1 with C & 17 with M)
Row 22 - 30 (9 rows): K (total 150 sts)
Row 31: Increase 1 st, every 5 sts (total 29 sts) (29 with M)
Row 29 - 32 (4 rows): K (total 180 sts)
Row 33: Increase 1 sts, every 6 sts (total 29 sts) (29 with M)
Row 34 - 42 (9 rows): K (total 210 sts)

Row 43: split for sleeves - k 28, place 35 sts on another cable, cast on 15, k 70, place 35 sts on another cable, cast on 15, k 42
Row 44 - 45 (2 rows): k70, p3, k83, p3, k11 (total 170 sts)
Row 46: k2, m1, k10, m1, k30, m1, k10, m1, k20, p3, k92, p3  (total 174 sts)
Row 47 - 49 (3 rows): k the k, p the p (total 174 sts)

Row 50: k3, m1, k10, m1, k30, m1, k10, m1, k20, p3, k92, p3, k3 (total 178 sts)
Row 51-  62(12 rows): k the k, p the p (total 178 sts)
Row 54: k1, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k22, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k5, k2tog, k3, k2tog, k18, p3, k92, p3, k3 (total 170 sts)
Row 55 - 60 (6 rows): k the k, p the p (total 170 sts
Row 61: k16, k2tog, k16, k2tog, k16, k2tog, k12, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k22, k2tog, k21, k2tog, k16, k2tog, k16, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k9 (total 160 sts)
Row 62 - 66 (5 rows): k the k, p the p (total 160 sts)
Row 67: k15, k2tog, k13, k2tog, k14, k2tog, k12, k2tog, k2, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k14, k2tog, k8, k2tog, k18, k2tog, k19, k2tog, k2, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k2, k2tog, k4 (total 145 sts)
Row 68 - 126 (58 rows): k the k, p the (total 145 sts)
Divide sweater into two (2) sides (front 73 sts, back 73 sts)
Front of sweater:
Row 127 - 136 (10 rows): p3, k67, p3 (73 sts)
Row 137 -  145 (9 rows): p5, *k2, p2*, repeat * 6 times, k2, p3, *k2, p2*, repeat 6 times, k2, p5
Bind off in pattern.

Back of sweater:

Row 127 - 141 (15 rows): p3, k67, p3 (73 sts)

Row 142 -  150 (9 rows): p5, *k2, p2*, repeat * 6 times, k2, p3, *k2, p2*, repeat 6 times, k2, p5

Bind off in pattern.

Sleeves:
Pick up 18 sts for a total of 54 sts for each sleeve.

Row 1 - 50 (50 rows): k, maintaining a total of 54 sts for each sleeve.

Right sleeve: switch to a US5 needle, Row 51 - 60 (10 rows): k, maintaining a total of 54 sts.

Left sleeve: continue using US8 needle, Row 51 - 60 (10 rows): k, maintaining a total of 54 sts.

Left sleeve: switch to a US5 needle.

Both sleeves (using US5 needles): Row 61 - 70 (10 rows): k, maintaining a total of 54 sts for each sleeve.

Row 71: Decrease by 2 sts on each sleeve for a total of 52 sts on each sleeve.

Row 72: k, maintaining 52 sts on each sleeve.

Row 73: Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 50 sts on each sleeve.

Row 74 - 85 (12 rows): k, maintaining 50 sts on each sleeve.

Row 86:  Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 48 sts on each sleeve.

Row 87: k, maintaining 48 sts on each sleeve.  

Row 88: Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 46 sts on each sleeve.

Row 89 : k, maintaining 46 sts on each sleeve.

Row 90: Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 44 sts on each sleeve.

Row 91 - 100 (10 rows): k, maintaining 44 sts on each sleeve.

Row 101: Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 42 sts on each sleeve.

Row 102: k, maintaining 42 sts on each sleeve.

Row 103: Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 40 sts on each sleeve.

Row 104: k, maintaining 40 sts on each sleeve.

Row 105: Decrease by 2 start each sleeve for a total of 38 sts on each sleeve.
Row 106 - 110 (5 rows): k, maintaining 38 sts on each sleeve.

Row 111 - 125 (15 rows): p2, k2, ending in p2.

Bind off.

Making the sweater was amazingly quick (especially since it was a worsted weight yarn)!  However, it was naming my sweater that was difficult part. 😲🤔  At first, I had thought to call it Jellybean (named after one of the colorways I used); then after much discussion (and show & tell), I found it's true name: Haru no Seetaa (春 のセーター) - both Hubby and my sissy helped me figure out what it should be called (Thanks, guys!!). 😊😍😘

And here it is in all of it's glory:

Front

Left 

Right

Back

This sweater is really warm.  I think it'll be coming with me on my next winter trip. ☃️❄️😊

Kabocha (かぼちゃ)

I'm in the midst of gathering my Christmas gift for a friend of mine.  She lives in Japan and loves Halloween items.  Unfortunately, many of the Halloween items we have here in the US are large, (more importantly) heavy, and unwieldy (and/or fragile) to ship from here to Japan.  Plus, it's not that cute.   I've made my friend some practical knitted items in Christmas pasts but she refuses to use it outside her home so I got to thinking: "Hmmmm .... what if I made some pumpkins (aka kabochas (かぼちゃ)) for her instead of trying to find nice, small (light & non-fragile) ones?"  Hence, a portion of her Christmas gift was born! 

I scoured what I had as well as through the internet and found two (2) contenders:
Contender #1: Knitted Pumpkins by Anne Potter:
When I first saw this pattern, I saw how Anne had made a small/tiny pumpkin into a candy holder and I thought: "OMG!!! This is perfect!  She l-o-v-e-s tiny things!"  So, I began to make it (using my mystery cream yarn), only to realize, that it was too tiny for me to put the food item I intended to put in there (short bread cookies).  It really was suited for small items like candy corn or regular milk M&Ms (which she doesn't care for).  So, I ripped it out (don't worry - it was only a few rows) and started again - this time making the medium size.  It was perfect - it fits the cookies I was planning on (also) giving her.😄  I finished it in three (3) days.

Contender #2: Spicy Knit Pumpkins by Red Heart:
I found this pattern and saw that it was 1) knit in the round and 2) used the chevron stitch - #2 won me over.  I've been thinking about using this stitch pattern on something else I wanted to make in the house and here was my chance to try it out!  (Plus, it was knit in the round - how could I go wrong?).  Initially, I was going to make it in one (1) (solid) colour but then, I was "suddenly" gifted with a butt-load(!) of black yarn.  As I was starting this pattern, I thought: "Hey!  I have all this black yarn and it seems that this season black and white pumpkins are all the rage so ... Hmmmm ...." So ... I (tried to) follow the instructions and ... my pumpkin came out more as a horror than a cute pumpkin! 😒  I ripped it out, went onto the web to see if there was an errata for this pattern but found Contender#3 instead.

Contender #3: Marly Bird's Knit Pumpkin:When first looking at the pattern, it seemed easy enough but what really caught me was the cute little vine and that it came in an extra small size!  I pulled out my leftover Malabrigo Rios Yarn Fresco Y Seco and just went to town with it.  I casted on and finished it in an hour (ok, possibly an hour and a half).  I was so shocked at how quick it was (well, not really - knitting with Malabrigo Rios is a dream; I L-O-V-E this yarn and almost feel tempted to own every single damn colour of it!😉).  I stuffed it with the black "gifted" yarn and took out my camo sock yarn for the leaf portion and voilà! it was done.  It came out so well, that I was very tempted to make a whole pumpkin patch worth! 😮🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Here's what the kabochas look like:

I hope she enjoys them! 😊

The Jacques Cousteau Hat - Revisted

So ... Hubby said that he wanted to learn how to knit - on dpns and that he would learn by learning how to make his own Jacques Cousteau Hat.  So, we went crazy and bought him an assortment of dpns.  And he learned how to cast on and ... loved it!  He loved it so much that it was all he wanted to do: cast on (rip it out), cast on (again) (and rip it out again)!  My silly boy tricked me!  So, I just gave in and made his hat just in time for Halloween.  Using my Chiaogoo Twist needles 4mm (US 7) & 40" cable, here's Hubby's (new) version of the Jacques Cousteau:

1. Cast on 120 sts. 
2. K3, P2 for 53 rows (for about 15.5 cm (6.12 in)) 
3. *Work 26 sts in the rib pattern, then KKS (Knit-knit-slip) (27th & 28th sts => 27 st), place marker, P2*, repeat * 3 more times.
4. *Work to 2 sts of marker, KKS, P2*, repeat * Continue to decrease in this fashion until 12 sts remain (that's 26 rows).
5. Break yarn and thread it through the remaining sts, pull tight and weave in ends. 

Ta-da!  Here's how it looks:

 Front

 Top

Back

All done and ready for Halloween! 🎃

Time To Stretch My Skills!

Sometimes, there's just not enough time (or yarn) for everything one wants/needs to make/create.  And, it didn't help that whenever laundry time came around, not having an extra hand towel to use was a pain (how are you to dry your hands after using the bathroom if all the hand towels are in the wash?!).  So, with the remaining Cascades Luna yarn I had (a bit of bright turquoise) from the hand towel I made back in October 2017, I picked up two (2) more skeins in a dark blue from Isle Knit and decided that it was time to make an extra hand towel as well as stretch my knitting skills to see if I could try knitting with two (2) colours at a time.

Now, it's not that I haven't ever knitted with more than one (1) colour before; I've done that quite a few times already although it was done in a much more simplistic way - with stripes or knitting a different colour/yarn on every other row.  What I wanted to stretch my skills with is actually knitting every other stitch in another colour.  So, I looked through all of my stitchonaries and found this: Textured Check pattern from Reversible Two-Color Knitting by Jane F. Neighbors.  It seemed perfect!  So here's what I did:

1. Cast on 51 sts 
2. Moss st for 5 rows 
3. K for 10 rows 
4. Textured Check pattern from Reversible Two-Color Knitting by Jane F. neighbors for 30 rows 
5. K for 30 rows 
6. Place sts on marker (side 1)
7. Cast on 51 sts (side 2)
8. Moss st for 5 rows 
9. K for 10 rows 
10. Textured Check pattern for 31.5 rows 
11. K for 28.5 rows 
12. Bind off using the Kitchener st and weave in ends

Total size: 62 cm x 24 cm (24.5" x 11")
Here's how it came out:

 Front

 Front Texture Stitch

 Back

Back Texture Stitch

Overall, it wasn't as difficult knitting with two (2) colours.  I can see why some people using yarn bobbins if more colours were used and why one would cut segments of yarns.   I can also see why using one would also use a yarn guide too.  While it wasn't very difficult to knit with the two (2) colours without a yarn guide, I wonder if my tension would have been more consistent (or possibly even looser) with a yarn guide. Hmmm ... 🤔 Something to think about ... 😉

Rainbow Brite no Seetaa (レインボーブライトのセーター)

It's the holiday season (in 2017) and it was finally time to start on one of my (many) sweater project(s)!  It was hard to figure out which yarn would be used first in my sweater foray - after all, I have two (2!) whole boxes of sweater projects waiting to be made! :P  I settled for using my Knitting Fever Painted Desert yarns and my Chiaogoo 4" US 3 needles.  And here's how my adventure went along:

First, I had to figure out exactly what kind of sweater I wanted to make.  Because the yarn itself was a colorful gradient-ish yarn, I figured if I made the simplest of sweaters, it could work out nicely with the yarn.  Thus, my first yoke sweater was born.  Then I had to figure out how to actually make it.  After doing a few searches and rummaging around the web a bit, I found: The Yoke-u-lator!  Based on the instructions/"guidance" for The Yoke-u-lator and some guidelines from Ann Budd's Knitter's Handy Book of Top Down Sweaters, here's what I did:

1. Using the Twilight yarn (aka Yarn A), I casted on 210 stitches and joined in the round.
2. Row 1: Start the first round with a 1x1 ribbing using Yarn A.
3. Row 2: Continue 1x1 ribbing pattern using the Maroon yarn (aka Yarn B).
4. Row 3-5 (3 rows): Continue in pattern switching from Yarn A to Yarn B until the ribbing is x cm (x in), ending  in Yarn A.
5. Row 6: With Yarn B, switch to stockinette stitch.
6. Row 7: With Yarn A, continue stockinette stitch, increasing 12 stitches evenly over the  round (additional 17 stitches, total 227)
7. Row 8-10 (3 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending with Yarn B.
8. Row 11: With Yarn A, increase 11 stitches evenly over the round (additional 20 stitches, for a total of 247).
9. Row 12-16 (5 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending in Yarn B.
10. Row 17: With Yarn A, increase 11 stitches evenly over the round (additional 22 stitches, for a total of 269).
11. Row 18-26 (9 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending in Yarn B.
12. Row 27: With Yarn A, increase 11 stitches evenly over the round (additional 24 stitches, for a total of 293).
13. Row 28-30 (3 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending in Yarn B.
14. Row 31: With Yarn A, increase 6 stitches evenly over the round (additional 49 stitches, for a total of 342).
15. Row 32-42 (11 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending in Yarn B.
16. Row 43: With Yarn A, increase 12 stitches evenly over the round (additional 28 stitches, for a total of 370).
17. Row 44-56 (13 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending in Yarn B.
18. Row 57: With Yarn A, increase 12 stitches evenly over the round (additional 30 stitches, for a total of 400).
19. Row 58-66 (9 rows): Starting with Yarn B, k in the round and alternating with Yarn A, ending in Yarn B.
20. Row 67: Time to split the sleeves from the body!  K 119 sts & place a marker; slip 102 sts onto another knitting cable to "make" the first sleeve.  Cast on 43 sts and join it to the "back" side. K 120 sts & place a marker; slip 102 sts onto another knitting cable to "make the second sleeve.  Cast on 43 sts and join it to the "front"s side.
21. Row 68-75 (9 rows): k139, p3, k126, p3, k20 (291 sts)
22. Row 76: k137, k2tog, p3, k126, p3, k20 (290 sts)
23. Row 77-88 (12 rows): k138, p3, k126, p3, k20 (290 sts)
24. Row 89: k136, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k123, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k18 (287 sts)
25. Row 90: k the knits, p the purls (287 sts)
26. Row 91: k135, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k120, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k17 (282 sts)
27. Row 92: k the knits, p the purls (282 sts)
28. Row 93: k134, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k118, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k16 (278 sts)
29. Row 94-224 (130 rows): k the knits, p the purls (278 sts)
30. Row 225-240 (15 rows): k, p to create a 1x1 ribbing (278 sts)
31. Bind off bottom.

As I was nearing the bottom of the sweater, I realized that I would not have enough yarn for the sleeves (much less the rest of the bottom of the sweater!).  So, off I went to the same place in which I picked up Yarn A to buy a substitute variation of it: 30 Egyptian.  While it wasn't quite exactly the same, it was close enough to the coloration and gradation of Yarn A.  It had to do since I needed more yarn for sleeves (and it was seriously my only option anyways)!  

Now time for The Sleeves.  I initially picked up 25 sts for each sleeve and started the sleeves.  As they grew longer, something was just wrong with my sleeves - they were oddly puffy!  So, I ripped out my sleeves and started again.  I found that I had to initially start with a different number of stitches for each sleeve because of the way I had split off everything. So here's how it went:
For the Right side:

1. Picked up 16 sts for a total of 118 sts.
2. R-Sleeve Row 1: k11, p3, k104 (118 sts)
3. R-Sleeve Row 2: Decrease every 5 sts (for a total of 20 sts) except for the p sts & last 3 sts (last 3 sts = k, k2tog) (98 sts)
4. R-Sleeve Row 3-5 (3 rows): k the knits, p the purls (98 sts)
5. R-Sleeve Row 6: Decrease every 5 sts (for a total of 18 sts) except for the p sts (82 sts)
6. R-Sleeve Row 7: k4, k2tog, k, k2tog, p3, k70 (80 sts)
7. R-Sleeve Row 8-20 (13 rows): k the knits, p the purls (80 sts)
8. R-Sleeve Row 21: k8, k2tog, k, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k2, *k6, k2tog*, repeat * 5 times (71 sts)
9. R-Sleeve Row 22: k14, p3, k2tog, k to end (70 sts)
10. R-Sleeve Row 23-110 (88 rows): k the knits, p the purls
11. *R-Sleeve Row 111: k15 (k to the last 2 start), k2tog tbl, p3, k to end (69 sts)
12. R-Sleeve Row 112: k16, p3, k2tog, k to end* (68 sts)
13. R-Sleeve Row 113-120 (8 rows): repeat R-Sleeve Row 111 & 112 alternately, decreasing a total of 8 sts (60 sts)
14. R-Sleeve Row 121-140 (20 rows): k the knits, p the purls (60 sts)
15. R-Sleeve Row 141: k13 (k to the last 2 start), k2tog tbl, p3, k to end (59 sts)
16. R-Sleeve Row 142: k14, p3, k2tog, k to end* (58 sts)
17. R-Sleeve Row 143-150 (8 rows): repeat R-Sleeve Row 141 & 142 alternately, decreasing a total of 8 sts (50 sts)
18. R-Sleeve Row 151-180 (30 rows): k the knits, p the purls (50 sts)
19. R-Sleeve Row 181-190 (10 rows); k. p to create a 1x1 ribbing (50 sts)
20. Bind off.

For the Left side:

1. Picked up 29 sts for a total of 131 sts.
2. L-Sleeve Row 2: k8, k2tog, k1, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k3, *k8, k2tog*, repeat * 9 times (119 sts)
3. L-Sleeve Row 3: k8, k2tog, p3, k to the end (118 sts)
4. L-Sleeve Row 4-5 (2 rows): k the knits, p the purls
5. L-Sleeve Row 6: k4, k2tog, k, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k2, 8k5, k2tog*, repeat * 8 times (99 sts)
6. L-Sleeve Row 7: k10, k2tog, p3, k to end (98 sts)
7. L-Sleeve Row 8-9 (2 rows): k the knits, p the purls
8. L-Sleeve Row 10: k4, k2tog, k3, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k2 , *k4, k2tog*, repeat * 7 times (84 sts)
9. L-Sleeve Row 11: k4, k2tog, k4, k2tog, k2, k2tog, p3, k to the end (80 sts)
10. L-Sleeve Row 12-20 (9 rows): k the knits, p the pursl
11. L-Sleeve Row 21: k8, k2tog, k, k2tog, p3, k2tog, k2, *k8, k2tog*, repeat * 5 times (70 sts)
12. L-Sleeve Row 22-110 (89 rows): k the knits, p the purls
13. L-Sleeve Row 111: k6, k2tog, p3, k to end (69 sts)
14. L-Sleeve Row 112: k7, p3, k2tog tbl, k to end* (68 sts)
15. L-Sleeve Row 113-120: repeat R-Sleeve Row 111 & 112 alternately, decreasing a total of 8 sts (60 sts)
16. L-Sleeve Row 121-140 (20 rows): k the knits, p the purls (60 sts)
17. L-Sleeve Row 141: k4, k2tog, p3, k to end* (59 sts)
18. L-Sleeve Row 142: k3, p3, k2tog, k to end* (58 sts)
19. L-Sleeve Row 143-150 (8 rows): repeat R-Sleeve Row 141 & 142 alternately, decreasing a total of 8 sts (50 sts)
20. L-Sleeve Row 151-180 (30 rows): k the knits, p the purls (50 sts)
21. L-Sleeve Row 181-190 (10 rows); k. p to create a 1x1 ribbing (50 sts)
22. Bind off.

After spending nearly six (6!) months, I finally have another hand-made sweater!  I learned a lot from this sweater like: 1) how I should've used the helix method instead of knitting by rows (there's a "line" on my sweater that won't block out 😒 - thankfully, it's on the "side" of my sweater so, it's not so obvious when I'm wearing it - well, in all honesty, it depends on which angle you're looking at me to see the "line" 😜), 2) I need to better plan out my sweater (versus just winging it at every step of the way) so that I can avoid mistakes (like the line in my sweater or re-doing sleeves three (3!) times!) or ripping out large chunks of my sweater (multiple times) to get it (mostly) right and 3) never finish a sweater at the peak of one of the most humid summers on record so I can take pictures and post my blog in a much more timely manner 😜.

Here's my final steps:

Played yarn chicken 😌 ... And ... (barely) WON)! 👍🤘👊 

It's been washed and being blocked on my Coco Knits Gauge Cloth & Inspinknity blocking wires (looks like that line isn't gonna be blocked out 🙄)

Here's what it looks like completely washed and dried:

Front

Left

Back

Right

Overall, I'm happy with the sweater (although I wish it'd be a bit cooler so I can wear it) and am looking forward to another sweater adventure!  😍

Akachan no Mofu (赤ちゃん の 毛布 - Baby Blanket) #2

I was perusing my stash and wondered what the heck would I ever do with the bright green yarn that my mom had picked up for me (and had gone a bit overboard) while traveling in Taiwan a while ago.  (Back story: I had asked her to pick up 1-2 balls of sock yarn (basically something I could make a pair of socks with) and instead, she (or more likely my Dad) had gone nuts and basically brought home yarn that I couldn't use for a pair of socks! )

So, after much thought and deliberation about what I was going to do with this weird color (it's neon green - like safety/tennis ball green!😵), I decided that I could perhaps make another Akachan no Mofu (赤ちゃん の 毛布 = Baby Blanket) - maybe something with a more modern flare to it.  I looked through my stash and found that my mystery cream yarn plus, the remnants of the Chic blue multi and my Red Heart light grey yarn would be my starter palette.  All I would need to do now is to find 2 more colours to round it out.  So off I went to Walmart to find the remaining two (2) colours and found two (2) skeins of Red Heart Super Saver in a bright turquoise blue and a dark heather grey.

In the meantime, I needed to figure out what pattern I wanted to try out (as I didn't want to use the same pattern I used on my first blanket).  So I scoured through my stitchionaries (I love these kinds of books sooooo much!😍) and in my Vogue Stichtionary Vol. 3, I found the perfect pattern: Stitch#136 Multi Basketweave.  I had borrowed another book from the library: The Essential Guide to Color Knitting Techniques by Margaret Radcliffe where she talked about using patterns in stripes (something that I wanted to do with this blanket) and whaddaya know, she talked about the same pattern and even had a sample of what it would look like in stripes on page 35!  It was destiny! 😍

Based on my previous Akachan no Mofu (赤ちゃん の 毛布), I knew that I would need to cast on 168 sts and would have to make about 298 rows or so to make it (nearly or about) twin sized.  But the only issue was that I had a remnent amount of the multi blue and only two (2) balls of the neon green.  And, I didn't want to swatch both of them to figure out gauge.🙄  So, being brave, I did a little math, sketched out my colour chart and pattern sequence and used this provisional cast on with the cream yarn so that I could start with the blue multi yarn and go from there.  I basically started in the middle and went one way with one colour then go back to the other side and worked that colour.  This way I would know how much of the other colours (light grey, cream, turquoise, and dark heather grey) I would need the limiting colour was the blue multi and neon green.  

So, here's what I did:
The pattern was as follows: the st count is in multiples of 8 sts plus 4 sts (2 sts on each end)

P seq:
Row 1, 3, 5, & 7: K
Row 2, 4, 6, & 8: P2, *K4, P4*, repeat * 13 times, end k2

K seq:
Row 9, 11, 13, & 15: K
Row 10, 12, 14, & 16: K2, *P4, K4*, repeat * 13 times, end P2

Colour chart:
Bind off
dk heather grey = 8 rows of moss st
dk heather grey = 4 K seq & 3 P seq (60 rows)
lt grey = 2 P seq & 2 K seq (32 rows)
turquoise = 3 P seq & 2 K seq (44 rows)
cream = 1.5 P seq & 2 K seq (24 rows)
neon green = 1.5 P seq & 1 K seq (26) rows
cream = 1 P seq & 1 K seq (16 rows)
(Started here) blue multi = 1 P seq & 1 K seq (16 rows)
cream = 1 P seq & 1 K seq (16 rows)
neon green = 1 P seq & 1.5 K seq (20) rows
cream = 2 P seq & 1.5 K seq (28 rows)
turquoise = 2 P seq & 3 K seq (44 rows)
lt grey = 2 P seq & 2 K seq (32 rows)
dk heather grey = 4 P seq & 3 K seq (60 rows)
dk heather grey = 6 row of moss st
Bind off

Total size: 161.25 cm x 109.5 cm (63.5" x 43")

Wow - that was a total of 432 rows!! And it only took me three (3) months to finish this (and I wasn't really working on it daily so, it wasn't really three whole months). I think one of the biggest reason why it was so quick for me to make this is because the stitch pattern was much easier than the one I had chosen for my first blanket.

Here's what this one looks like:

Front

Back 

Now, we just need baby #2 to enjoy it! :P

The Perfect Bath Mat v2

You may recall that I had made the "perfect" bath mat previously.  Well, it turns out that it wasn't that perfect. 😢  Apparently, I had bound off too tightly and it "ruffled" a bit.  It ruffled even more as I used, washed and dried it.😭  Then my poor Giri no Chi Chi (義理の父) came over and used my bathroom. I had found my bath mat completely scrunched up (he's a shuffler) and that was my breaking point. He could've slipped or caught his foot up in the ruffles and tripped in my bathroom!😱😬😵☠️ That was it! I needed to fix my bath mat and take out those annoying ruffles!😤

I washed and dried it one last time as the old bath mat; as soon as it came out of the dryer, I looked for the "end". I found an "end" and started unraveling; oddly, it wasn't really unraveling - that because the "end" I found was actually the beginning!😶 So, off to the other side of the mat to find the "true" end. I must be some kind of amazing finisher because I had a heck of a time finding the g** D*** end! 😤😲😱😵😫 I ended up accidentally breaking the yarn and eventually found the "end". It took me a good six (6!) hours to rip out my old bath mat and rewind it.😒

Now that the yarn (and I) has relaxed a bit, it was time to reknit this baby. I decided that to avoid my previous problem, I would reknit the bath mat vertically (my initial bath mat was knitted horizontally) and with a longer cable so that it would be harder for me to scrunch up the stitches (i.e. less stitches to cram onto a cable as well as have a longer cable so there's more space!) so that it would reduce the likelihood of binding off (once again) too tightly. On that note, it also gave me an opportunity to change the stitch pattern on my bath mat. So, it was off to my stitchonaries to see what I pattern I should try out. I knew I needed to cast on at least 54 stitches to achieve the "height" of the bath mat and that I would need to make about 81 rows. I ended up using the imitation lattice stitch pattern. Here's what I did:

1. Cast on 55 sts (this is the height of the mat).
2. K
3. Imitation Lattice ( 24 row repeat)
4. R1: k2, k5, *p5, k7*, repeat * to the last 10 sts, p5, k5, k2
5. R2 and all wrong side rows: k the knits, p thr purls
6. R3: k2, k4, *p3, k1, p3, k5*, repeat * to the last 11 sts, p3, k1, p3, k4, k2
7. R5: k2, k3, *p3, k3*, repeat " to last 6 sts, p3, k3, k2
8. R7: k2, k, *k1, p3, k5, p3*, repeat to last 2 sts, k2
9. R9: k2, k, p3, *k7, p5*, repeat * to last 11 sts, k7, p3, k, k2
10. R11: k2, k, p2, *k9, p3*, repeat * to last 12 sts, k9, p2, k, k2
11. R13: repeat R9
12. R15: repeat R7
13. R17: repeat R5
14. R19: repeat R3
15. R21: repeat R1
16. R23: k2, k6, *p3, k9*, repeat to last 9 sts, p3, k6, k2
17. R24: repeat R2
18. Repeat R1-R24 5 more times
19. K (2 rows)
20. Bind off.

And here's how it turned out:

It took me a whooping six (6) days to finish this. It's nice to have a (soft and squishy) bath mat (again) in my bathroom. 😍

My Sissy's House Booties (Gimai No Uwabaki (義妹 の 上履き))

I was cruising around the web when I saw this pattern: Walk in the Clouds.  I was soooooo cute!😍  I thought it would be a great Christmas gift (for next year) for my cousins and girls.  But, to test it out, I needed a guinea pig.🤔  Luckily, I have an awesome sissy who lives somewhere cold and is always willing to be a knitting recipient!😍🤗  So I watched the accompanying video and went to town on her house booties!  It took me a whooping six (6!) days to finish both booties (It didn't help that I messed up the cuff on one side and had to rip it out (twice because I wasn't paying attention and couldn't count if my life depended on it!😵😱) and that I had to redo the seam of the first bootie after I learned how to make a nicer seam on the second bootie😶).  And here's what it looks like:

My sissy helped me pick out the buttons ... the finishing touches (like buttons) are always the hardest to do 😵😬 - do I pick this button or that button?  Is it too big or too small?  Is this button too retro?  Too gaudy??  I scoured all my (own) buttons and discovered that I had a buttload of small/tiny buttons!😨😱  So, I scoured through my mother-in-law's button stash and found the right ones!😊  Good thing I asked my sissy about her opinion on the buttons - I was going to pick buttons that were really bright against her booties; she suggested that it should be a monochromatic look (I wouldn't have thought of that 😳).

It'll be couriered up to her in a few weeks so I hope she enjoys them! ❄️☃️🌨️

UP-DATE:  My sissy loves it!😍

She said it was just the right height and feels nice and cozy ... Perfect when the weather turns cooler. 🍁❄️  She's looking forward to to using it this falls nd winter.  I'm looking forward to how well it'll wear and hold up! 😉 

Up-date: Harinezumi (ハリネズミ)

You may recall that I had found a super cute Harinezumi (ハリネズミ) pattern from a previous blog.  Well, they have be delivered and named.  Please meet:

Hi, my name is Pokey because harinezumi's are pokey.

Hi, my name is snowball because I love snowballs.☃️

Also, please meet:

Purl and Pudgy has found a new home with my lil' bro and my new sissy-in-law. 💒

I think my sweeties are hinting for shiny ones now (because and I quote: "wouldn't they be soooo cool if it was shiny and glittery (and pink)?") ... We'll see if I start making them a family of harinezumis ... 🤔😉